Bishop of Ely warned church about alleged abuse

Bishop of Ely, Stephen Conway, informed the police about the alleged abuse when a survivor came forward in 2013.

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The Bishop of Ely Stephen Conway warned the Anglican church more than three years ago about alleged abuse in its ranks, it has been claimed.

The Right Rev Stephen Conway's correspondence was revealed in a six month Channel 4 investigation into the activities of John Symth QC, a former leader at the Iwerne Trust Christian camps, which had close links with the Church of England.

Alleged victims have claimed they endured violent beatings at the hands of Smyth in the late 1970s or early 1980s.

In the report the church admitted that by 2013 police had been notified about the alleged abuse and the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, was shown a letter written by the Bishop of Ely to the Bishop of Cape Town highlighting “concerns” expressed by “an alleged survivor”.

A spokesperson from Ely Diocese told the News: “We have the facts on file. When we were made aware in 2013 we did all we could to tell the appropriate authorities.

“When we received allegations in 2013 from a survivor the appropriate authorities were informed and both Cambridgeshire Police, and the Bishop of Cape Town, were informed by the Bishop of Ely at the time.

He added it would not be possible to get a comment from the Bishop of Ely at this stage while investigations are on-going.

The Archbishop, who worked as a dormitory officer on Iwerne Trust camps in the late 1970s, said he was "completely unaware" of the allegations at the time and was not a "close friend" of Smyth.

Other victims have accused the archbishop of failing to expose the abuse sooner and urged him to reveal how much he knew about the allegations.

A statement on behalf of the Archbishop read: “We recognise that many institutions fail catastrophically, but the church is meant to hold itself to a far, far higher standard and we have failed terribly.

"For that the Archbishop apologises unequivocally and unreservedly to all survivors.”

Following the investigation, one alleged victim said he endured a "violent, excruciating and shocking" beating at the hands of Smyth at a Christian camp in the late 1970s or early 1980s.

He said: "I was drawn into the Smyth circle, as they were, and the beating I endured in the infamous garden shed was violent, excruciating and shocking; but it was thankfully a one-off experience never to be repeated.

"A while later one of my friends attempted suicide on the eve of another session in the shed, and at that point I and a friend shared our story.

"My profoundest prayers are with all those affected by this, and my heartfelt desire is that lessons might be learnt so this never happens again."

Another alleged victim said he grew so afraid of beatings that he tried to commit suicide in 1981. The attempt prompted the Iwerne Trust to launch an investigation, and compile a confidential report which was then revealed by Channel 4 News.